Narcissist Apocalypse: Patterns of Abuse

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse Q&A, we talk with Renee Swanson (Host of The Covert Narcissism Podcast) about her abusive marriage to a covert narcissist, the grief process, reclaiming your voice, and healing from narcissistic abuse through community. You can reach Renee Swanson by emailing her at renee@covertnarcissism.com or by visiting her website at http://www.covertnarcissism.com Ren...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Paris tells her story of marrying a victim-playing abuser. At first, Paris was love-bombed in a way that set her heart on fire. It was intoxicating and overrode all her other senses. From there, her future abusive husband began to play the victim in his life and use guilt to hook Paris in for good. It was a whirlwind that was hard to break free from, and b...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Shilo tells her story of growing up in an enmeshed family and a marriage marred by faith-based abuse. Throughout Shilo's life, her mother was always in the background pulling strings and this included her abusive marriage. Shilo was literally living in a twilight zone, only to emerge once she divorced. It's a sinister story of scapegoats, puppet masters, s...

In the episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, we have the return of Maude from our March 7th, 2024 survivor story, and we discuss the crucial moments that led to her escape and the subsequent journey of healing/self-discovery. Maude also discusses the ways you can doubt yourself after being gaslit for so long and the tips she has for abuse survivors to regain their sense of self and what is true. *** C...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Blue tells her story of The Frog in the Boiling Pot. Blue was swept off her feet by the man of her dreams, and they moved in together quite quickly However, the abuse began slowly as nitpicking. A year later, the nitpicking also included putdowns. And by year three, the nitpicking and putdowns began to take a toll on Blue's identity. So by the time the phy...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, we welcome play therapist, Sybil Cummins (MA, LPC, ACS), to explore the transformative power of play therapy for children who've faced/witnessed the darkness of coercive control, domestic violence, and narcissistic abuse. Listen in as Sybil enlightens us on how imaginative play not only offers a vital outlet for children to process trauma but also strength...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Emma chronicles her triumph over childhood trauma and a series of scary abusive relationships. Emma's story begins with an upbringing fraught with abuse, low self-worth, and suicidal ideation. As Emma grows older, her life takes a turn into darker waters as she recounts how she navigated the treacherous currents of coercive control, gaslighting, manipulati...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Brandon reads letters and poems from survivors of domestic violence, coercive control, and narcissistic abuse about their experiences. Plus, Brandon analyzes the letters to discuss the big themes of being good enough, survival, and your basic human rights. *** CONTENT WARNING - This episode discusses sexual abuse and physical abuse. *** If you want to be a...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, a transgender woman named Dana courageously shares her story of surviving emotional and sexual abuse by her father. As the eldest child, Dana grappled with the responsibility of protecting her mother and sister while navigating her own harrowing path in and out of the home. Once Dana was out of her abusive home, she thrived through the transformational pow...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Brandon talks with Maude about how she plans to escape her current relationship with an animal abuser, who is also an emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive narcissist. We used a voice changer for this episode. The sound may not be the best because of it, but it was needed for safety reasons It's a story of dehumanization, infidelity, suicide threat...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, we talk with an abuse survivor named Terry, and Terry was trauma bonded to a manipulative physical abuser. They say it takes an average of 7 times to leave your abuser, but for Terry is was much higher. To quote Terry "It's not that I didn't want to break away from my abuser, it was just, I didn't know how to." However, Terry eventually did go no contact,...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse Q&A, Brandon discusses Lundy Bancroft's 10 types of abusers & the role of narcissistic personality disorder. Plus they discuss, minimization, gaslighting, physical abuse, control, power, triangulation, threats, intimidation, guilt, invalidation, kernels of truth, and much more. *** TRIGGER WARNING - We discuss physical abuse and suicide in this episode. ***...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Abigail tells her story of being raised by a psychologically and physically abusive father. Abigail's father needed to be the center of attention for everything, and if he wasn't, everyone in her family faced the consequences. Abigail's story isn't just a story of being abused, but it's also a story of seeing her mother being abused, how her mother didn't...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse Q&A, Dr. Ryan Sultan unpacks the complexities and nuances of trauma and its therapies. Dr. Sultan explores how cutting-edge therapies are revolutionizing the way we approach healing. He demystifies the scientific intricacies behind treatments like EMDR, a fascinating neurological approach for addressing trauma, and discusses the promising frontiers of ketam...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Carmella recounts how she found unexpected support from an engaged man during a personal crisis. Their friendship blossomed into romance, and then a pressured proposal, highlighting the struggle of reconciling the whirlwind of emotions with societal expectations and personal apprehension. As we further dissect coercive control dynamics, Carmella examines t...

Join me, your host Brandon Chadwick, as I sit down with the esteemed Dr. Christine Marie Cocchiola to unpack the complex issue of coercive control within intimate relationships. By using the unsettling coercive control allegations by Olya Sharypova against tennis star Alexander Zverev as our backdrop, we navigate the crucial shift in terminology from domestic violence to coercive control, offering...

In this week's abuse survivor story, Johana discusses her three year abusive relationship. Like many narcissistic abuse survivor stories, it all started with love bombing. And once the love bombing was complete, Johana's abuser had complete control as the truth teller in her world. From there, Johana's abuser started to weaponize his culture, and he began to employ every tactic in the power and co...

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse Q&A, Brandon discusses the complexities of seeking validation from an abuser and how this can trap abuse victims in a never-ending cycle of mistreatment. Plus, Brandon discusses the top 8 ways in which validation can help in the healing of narcissistic abuse, domestic violence, and coercive control. If you want to be a guest on our survivor story podcast, p...

In this survivor story, Parker returns to our show, inviting us into the heart-wrenching labyrinth of her past entanglement with emotional abuse. Her story unravels the complexities of a marriage that began with love-bombing and spiraled into a chilling reality marked by financial manipulation and psychological control. Surrounding Parker's abusive relationship, was the continued abuse from her Je...

In this episode, Brandon breaks down five types of narcissistic abuse manipulation tactics that exhaust you and why they employ them. If you are in a relationship with a narcissistic abuser, then you know that it can be both mentally/physically exhausting and can leave you feeling drained and depleted. We discuss fear based manipulation tactics, doubt based tactics, monitoring tactics, guilt tacti...

In this survivor story, Blanche shares her scary story of narcissistic abuse and stalking. Blanche began dating her abuser when she was 19 years old and feeling vulnerable. Her abuser swept in and at first made Blanche special, but he quickly became jealous and controlling. As soon as the abuse began, things moved so fast that Blanche didn't have time to think about what was happening. The emotion...

In this episode, Brandon discusses the protective output of perfectionism, which is a protective trauma response with real health consequences. He dives into the creation of perfectionism, the three main types, dysregulation, and coping. Also, Brandon discusses how society has contributed to perfectionism as a whole and how we must figure out how to combat the cycles of societal generational traum...

Zoey opens up about the toxic and abusive relationships that spanned her life—from the physical and emotional abuse instigated by her mother to the controlling narcissistic partner who perpetuated the cycle of abuse. Zoey was stuck between two abusers, and it was confusing, as each of them used kernels of truth to keep Zoey from creating a life free from both of them. It's a story of abusive mothe...

Robyn grew up with a controlling narcissistic mother, but to Robyn, this was normal. However, as Robyn got older, she started to see that something wasn't right, and that she wasn't the terrible person her mother made her out to be. It's a story of intergenerational trauma, narcissistic abuse, impossible expectations, emotional abuse, putdowns, domestic abuse, identity issues, shame, guilt, the no...

Hans grew up yearning for the love of his absent father while simultaneously being bullied in school. The one thing he wanted most in life was to feel accepted and to be a good dad. And that acceptance came from his future wife, who accepted Hans like no one had before. But unfortunately for Hans, his future wife would build a family with him, knowing she could abuse him by ripping it away. It's a...